Page 42 of Demon's Mate
“You were nearby?” Harper choked back his sobs in order to get the words out. “I—I didn’t see you.”
“No, but I was there. Right place at the right time. I’m not working with them.”
“I don’t believe you,” Harper whispered. It was all too convenient.
Ash looked pained by Harper’s distrust. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Let me explain. First, you’re right, Harper, you saw my fangs. I’m not human.” Ash bared his teeth and let his fangs descend before retracting them. “I saw what happened, stopped those witches from attacking you, and brought you home. That’s all there is to it.”
Was that really how it had gone? Harper almost asked why he couldn’t sense Ash’s magic but stopped himself just in time. He didn’t want to give away that he was a witch. His disguise should still be intact. A vampire wouldn’t be able to see past the suppressing potion, so Ash would only know Harper was a witch if he was working with his coven.
“The witches attacking me just let you take me away?” Harper doubted it was that simple. Finch could have easily taken on a vampire with backup. Ash was huge and no doubt inhumanly strong, but witches had a wider range of magical abilities than vampires, and his father’s advisers were formidable.
“No, they didn’t let me take you away.” Ash grimaced. “I killed them.”
Harper’s shaking hands stilled and all the air whooshed out of his lungs. It was the last thing he’d expected Ash to say. “R-really?”
“Yes.” Ash held Harper’s gaze, not faltering or sounding sorry about his actions. “They hurt you,” he growled as if that were explanation enough for taking a life or two.
Harper’s mouth fell open, but he shut it quickly.
Ash didn’t break eye contact. There was something comforting in his hard stare that Harper didn’t understand.
Satandamn him, Ash had killed two men, and Harper felt nothing but relief.
Harper had been so certain that the worst thing in his horrible life was about to happen, and Ash had come in out of nowhere and saved him. That sort of thing didn’t happen in real life, but Harper believed Ash was telling the truth. He’d always felt safe with Ash. Inexplicably, sure, but now Ash had killed to protect him, and the feeling didn’t seem so misplaced.
“You’re safe, Harper. They aren’t coming after you again,” Ash said, tone firm but gentle. It was exactly what Harper wanted to hear.
Tears flooded Harper’s eyes and he buried his head in his hands. It was too much. Someone’s death shouldn’t make him feel better. He shouldn’t trust Ash or believe him, but he did.
“I’m sorry, Harper. Are you…? Did I do the wrong thing?”
Harper couldn’t look at Ash, no matter how concerned he sounded. He shook his head. “No. They were bad people. They hurt…” He shook his head again. He wasn’t getting into that now. “It’s good they’re gone. I can’t believe you’re a vampire and you killed them. Why would you do something like that when you don’t even care about me?”
Maybe he should feel bad about his lack of remorse, but the world was better off, and Harper was glad he’d never have to be afraid of Finchagain.
“I do care about you, Harper,” Ash said so delicately that Harper looked up.
He frowned. “No, you don’t. You literally ran away from me. You left me humiliated.”
Ash’s brow furrowed and his mouth pinched. It looked almost painful, like he was vastly more regretful for upsetting Harper than killing his attackers. “I can explain.”
“Can you?” Harper sat up straighter, pushing the last of his tears away. “Then why didn’t you explain in the coffee shop when I asked you to?”
“I wasn’t…” Ash faltered, then pushed on. “I wasn’t ready to reveal myself. I, um, didn’t realize you know about magic. But you obviously do since witches attacked you…”
“What does magic have to do with it?”
Ash looked down at his hands, then like he’d decided something, he fixed his full attention on Harper. “That night after the club, I was overcome with the urge to bite you. Sharing orgasms with you in my arms overwhelmed me, and I almost… I couldn’t control it. I ran before you saw what I was.”
Harper opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
That actually made a lot of sense.
Now that Harper reconsidered, Ash had been fixated on his neck as they’d come, and he’d noticed Ash getting more and more keyed up. Ash must be a relatively new vampire if he didn’t have control over his urges.
“So you didn’t want to leave?” Harper was unable to quell the hopeful note in his voice.
“No.” Ash reached for Harper’s hand, and he let Ash take it. “I regret running away like that, but I had to make sure I didn’t bite you, and by the time I calmed down, there was no way to explain without revealing myself… You’re human, but you saw my fangs, so there’s no reason to pretend anymore. I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
